As the third Test beckons at Headingley on Friday, a small army of cricket folk who have spent years turning Monty Panesar into an overnight success will be looking for more of the same from the man who snapped up eight Pakistan wickets at Old Trafford. Through schools, minor county, second XI and age-group representative cricket, he is now a Test match-winning spin bowler.

Paul Taylor, Surrey's cricket development officer

Taylor's own brief Test career owed much to serendipity, for he had been released by Derbyshire and played for Staffordshire before impressing the Northamptonshire and England selectors. The last Northants players to represent England until Panesar, Taylor was doing some winter coaching in Bedfordshire 12 years ago when he saw England's slow left-armer for the first time. He was not impressed.

"He was only 12 and he was bowling horrible little left-arm seamers at the time. They didn't swing or seam. He tried to angle it across batsmen but he was falling away as he bowled them and it just wasn't working."

During a short break for lunch Taylor discovered that Panesar was passing the time bowling spinners. "Not only that, he was turning it miles. Even then he had these impressives long fingers. It was no contest. I told him to concentrate on the spin and forget the seamers. I didn't know whether he would take any notice but when he came back for the next coaching session he was bowling spin, which was nice to see. The thing that has pleased me is that he doesn't seem phased by the big arena. He looks a natural at that level."

Nick Cook, Northants second XI coach

Panesar was only 16 when he played his first match for Northamptonshire's second XI, watched by Cook, another Northants and England left-arm spinner.

"My only regret with Monty is that I didn't put my money where my mouth is because I always said that he'd be the first Sikh to play for England. He always had that little bit extra. It sticks in my craw when people go on about his batting and fielding because I think he would make a good county No8. He needs to go up the order with England too, ahead of Matthew Hoggard, who could slide down the order to a position where he can just defend. Monty can hit the ball with a good physique and a decent technique. He showed against Sri Lanka that he can hit it a long way.

"But it's his bowling that really excites me. His maturity is very impressive because he was an excitable lad on occasions. He walks back to his mark looking very measured and knowing exactly what he is going to bowl next ball. He's in control of his mind and what he is trying to achieve.

"The thing with Monty is that he bowls it quicker than most, but still with a dip, and gets turn and bounce. I can't think of a great slow slow bowler - Bishen Bedi, perhaps. But Jim Laker, Fred Titmus, Ray Illingworth ... all bowled with pace.

"You don't get good players out bowling slow. You have to push it through and Monty can do that and still beat people in the air. Even when he was a kid, I remember, he got it through quicker than the other lads. Monty can get turn and bounce on shirt fronts. And the dip is the really important thing. Phil Tufnell was a fine bowler with a lovely loop. He got it up and down and did people in the air. But Monty has a bit extra. He can do people in the flight too but he can also beat them with turn and bounce, because he's got bigger, stronger hands with a good upright, front-on action.

"What I like about him now is that he's listening to everybody but only taking some of it in. You have to know what advice to take and what to discard in this game and Monty is already showing that he is his own man now, which was not the case when he was younger.

"He's still got a bit to learn. For example, when he's getting slogged by a tail-ender he should give it a little more air and bowl a bit wider. Then the low-order batsman will put it up in the air. But, all round, he's very impressive."

Andy Roberts, Former Northants leg-spinner

Before Panesar broke into county cricket he played for minor county Bedfordshire alongside Andy Roberts, who also played for Northants.

"The first time I remember playing against him was against Herts and he sent down more than 60 overs in a day, a huge number for a young lad, and he was economical too, even though David Ward, the old Surrey player, was playing for the opposition and he really was hard to bowl against.

"Then, the next morning, when I got to the ground and everyone felt very stiff, there was Monty wheeling away in the nets. I will never forget that. Nor will anyone who was there. It was blatantly obvious that he was a special talent. And he clearly loved practice, so he always had this potential to go all the way. We're all delighted for him."

David Mercer, Bedfordshire development officer

"He was a human bowling machine from the first time I met him. He would bowl all day if you wanted him to. I remember him taking seven wickets for two runs for Bedfordshire schools against Worcestershire schools. On another occasion, when we played Huntingdonshire and wondered whether we had enough runs, he went out there and took five wickets for 19 runs in 25 overs. After that we definitely did have enough runs."

Tim Boon, Leicestershire senior coach

Boon worked for the England and Wales Cricket Board and was in charge of the Under-19 side in India in 2000-1.

"Monty is this quiet, modest chap but sometimes he looks like the wild man of Borneo, especially when you see him with his patka off and his hair everywhere, and the whites of his eyes showing - even though he's asleep. The thing that struck me was that he had turn and bounce while bowling a decent pace. We put him in the team ahead of Durham's Graeme Bridge, even though Graeme had already established himself in the side."

David Capel, Northants first-team coach

Panesar went on to develop his cricket at Northamptonshire under the guidance of Capel, who this week took charge of first-team affairs following the departure of Kepler Wessels. The former England all-rounder has been impressed by the player's desire more than anything.

"He said 'I want to be the best spin bowler in the world,' and he had those big eyes bulging and you knew he meant it; not the best finger spinner in England but the best spinner in the world. And he had all these questions he wanted answers to. He was hungry for success even then.

"Bishen Bedi is a hero of his. He would also like to be the next Bishen, which is some role model to have. The mind boggles when I think what he could achieve in the game. With strong hands and powerful shoulders he was always able to give the ball a good rip and in the last Test he turned it as much as the wrist-spinners. But whatever the coaches have done for him he arrived with this natural ability. We've just built on that."

Rob Bailey, Former Northants team-mate

"I played a couple of games with him in 1999, my last season at Northampton. It was a couple of years before he really broke into the championship team; he was a second-team player in those days. It seems astonishing to me that only 12 months ago I was umpiring him in a university match. In one year he's come from playing in front of no one to being one of the top finger spinners in the game. It's remarkable.

"Now he's got the most wonderful chance in life. If Monty can keep developing like spin bowlers should, goodness knows how good he will be. He's already got an old head on young shoulders. He showed real maturity in the last Test. He was a very quiet, even shy lad when I first met him. And nothing much has changed there. But now you can see the confidence start to come out of him because of what he has achieved."